Summer Grain Salad

Fit For Life Physical Therapy

Rebecca Youngs, MS, RD, LD

As schedules get busier and activities start to pick up, you may find yourself in a pinch when it comes to lunches or dinners that can be made ahead of time, sit in the fridge, and get better with time!  Here is a perfect recipe using a grain with which you may be unfamiliar:  wheat berries.  Wheat berries are one of my favorite grains.  They contain all three parts of the wheat kernel – germ, bran, and endosperm.  This provides a variety of vitamins and fiber and they have a wonderful chewy texture once cooked.  This salad can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature!

Wheat Berry Salad with Mustard Maple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 cup of wheat berries, dry

1 honey crisp or pink lady apple

½ cup of chopped, unsalted pecans

2-3 ribs of celery, chopped

½ cup of chopped, pitted dates or raisins

Dressing

¼ cup of olive oil

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

¾ tsp. dry mustard powder

4 tsp. of pure honey

Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook wheat berries according to directions on the bag.

2. While cooking, chop the apple, celery, pecans, and dates. Add to a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard powder, honey, salt, and pepper. Whisk and add to the cooked wheat berries.  Add the wheat berries and vinaigrette mixture to the apples and celery mixture.

4. Mix well. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Key nutrients and tricks:

• Feel free to use quinoa or brown rice instead of wheat berries.
• Dates are a great lower glycemic index (GI) food. This means that your body will digest them slower, keeping you fuller for longer and your blood sugar will not spike as high. Make sure to use pitted dates such as Medjool.  Dates are a great source of natural sugar without adding any refined sources and can be packed into a variety of baked goods such as homemade granola bars!  I even use them to fuel my long runs!
• Leave the skin on the apples! This adds an extra boost of fiber.
• If you do not like pecans, walnuts or almonds are great substitutes.
• Another variation of this recipe could be using mandarin oranges instead of the dried fruit, cashews, green onions, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Registered & Licensed Dietitian Rebecca Youngs is an avid marathoner, loves to work out, and has specialized her practice in gastrointestinal health, as well as sports nutrition and fueling athletes of all levels. She is available for individual consultations at Fit For Life Physical Therapy or through zoom video conference.

Fit For Life Physical Therapy cares for people of all activity levels - to help prevent, recover from, or rehabilitate sports & orthopedic injuries.  We are proud to move people every day.

Please visit our website https://www.fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com/, email us at info@fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com, or call or text us at any of the phone numbers for our three convenient locations inside Fleet Feet/FrontRunner stores:

Polaris:  1270 East Powell Road Lewis Center, Ohio 43035 ~ 614-981-2065

Upper Arlington:  1344 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43221 ~ 614-981-1979

New Albany:  5792 North Hamilton Road, Columbus, Ohio 43230 ~ 614-581-7441